97: Chapter 97: Only by spending money can you become stronger? Goddess V me fifty!

Amidst the ruins, the smoke and dust had yet to settle.

The [Demonic Sword · Apophis] in Qin Ji's hand hummed and vibrated as its edge pressed against the fair side of Water Like Smoke's neck. Blood wound its way down the black blade, dripping onto the remains of the Phoenix screen that had long since been reduced to powder, making a 'sizzling' corrosive sound.

This was no ordinary physical suppression, but an absolute conceptual dominance.

"Heh..."

Pinned against the pile of rubble, Water Like Smoke did not beg for mercy; instead, she let out a highly penetrating chuckle. Her eyes, which were originally charming like peach blossoms, now took on a layer of eerie gray-white, and in the depths of her pupils, two ghostly fires of the netherworld seemed to be dancing.

"You have the scent of that bitch on you."

Ignoring the blade at her neck, Water Like Smoke's slender fingers lightly rested on the spine of Qin Ji's sword. Her fingertips actually left several white marks on the surface of the indestructible Divine Artifact. "That ice bitch from Fan Hall, she gave you her Godhead projection?"

Qin Ji's eyes flickered slightly.

The intelligence of this female NPC was a bit off the charts; she could actually identify the source of [Goddess of Ice and Snow · Divine Phantom].

"Let me correct you."

Qin Ji leaned down slightly, playful streams of data flashing in his purple-gold pupils. The heavy sword in his hand remained perfectly still. "It wasn't 'given'; it's called a commercial exchange. Also, don't change the subject. The current situation is—your life is in my hands."

"My life?"

The smile at the corner of Water Like Smoke's mouth grew even more intense. In the next second, a scalp-numbing aura of destruction suddenly erupted from within her body.

Zheng—!!

A clear and spirited sound of a plucked string exploded.

The space that had been firmly suppressed by Qin Ji actually underwent a strange folding. Water Like Smoke's figure blurred and faded like ink in water, replaced by a dark gray giant bow, two meters long, that appeared out of thin air.

Countless wailing souls were wound around the bow's body, and the bowstring was twisted from the tendons of some high-ranking deity.

[Warning: Detected Beyond-Divine-Grade energy fluctuations!]

[Warning: Target unit is disengaging 'Pretender' form. Current class determination: Heaven Punisher (Archer·God)]

Qin Ji's brow twitched, and his body instantly retreated dozens of meters, holding the demonic sword horizontally across his chest.

Boom!!

Almost at the same moment he retreated, the position where he had been standing was completely annihilated by an invisible arrow Qi. It wasn't an explosion, but direct molecular vaporization, leaving an absolute vacuum crater three meters in diameter on the ground, with its edges as smooth as a mirror.

"An Archer?"

Qin Ji stabilized himself and looked at Water Like Smoke, who was floating in mid-air holding the giant bow. At this moment, her complex flowing cloud gauze dress had transformed into form-fitting night-hunting gear. Her former charm had vanished, replaced by an indifference that viewed all living beings as mere grass.

"Scum who has defected to the Western Divine Court."

Water Like Smoke pulled back the bowstring, and a black arrow condensed entirely from killing intent locked onto the center of Qin Ji's forehead. "In the name of the Master of Fan Hall, I shall strike you down with Heaven's Punishment!"

"Wait."

Qin Ji raised his left hand in a 'stop' gesture. There was no panic on his face; instead, he wore an expression as if he were looking at an idiot. "Do you think I destroyed Fan Hall? Or do you think I'm the Goddess of Ice and Snow's simp?"

Water Like Smoke's movements paused, but the bowstring remained taut. "Is that not the case? If you hadn't destroyed Fan Hall, how could that bitch have given you her Godhead projection?"

"Your vision is too narrow."

Qin Ji shook his head, casually dispelling the heavy sword in his hand, and lightly tapped his finger in the void.

[System Prompt: Displaying Special Status — God Slayer Mark (Slayer)]

A blood-red inverted cross mark slowly emerged on Qin Ji's forehead. The terrifying Evil Qi contained within that mark caused the surrounding air temperature to instantly drop to absolute zero. That was a curse and glory that only one who had truly slaughtered the remnant soul of a deity could possess.

Finally, a crack appeared in Water Like Smoke's cold expression.

"God Slayer... You killed that bitch's remnant soul?!"

For the first time, her voice wavered. "Since you killed her, why can you still use her Divine Phantom? This doesn't follow the rules!"

According to the underlying logic of "God's Domain," although killing a deity's remnant soul would grant massive rewards, one would definitely lose that deity's protection and blessing.

"Have you ever heard a certain saying?" Qin Ji suddenly asked.

"What?" Water Like Smoke subconsciously replied.

"Transfer me fifty, and let me see your strength."

"???"

A giant question mark appeared on Water Like Smoke's exquisite face. Clearly, this high-end meme from Earth was still too Advanced for an NPC with self-awareness.

Qin Ji sighed, explaining with a 'you're hopeless' expression: "Back in Fan Hall, the Goddess of Ice and Snow asked me to do something for her, and the reward was giving me the Star Kingdom. I certainly didn't believe such a blank check, so I told her to 'transfer me fifty' first—meaning, give me a bit of blessing first to show your sincerity."

Water Like Smoke's hand holding the longbow trembled slightly. "And then?"

"And then she gave it."

Qin Ji shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "Since she gave it, that proved she indeed had strength. I am a man of integrity. I acknowledged her strength, so I turned around and killed her, and by the way, looted all her power."

"..."

Dead silence.

The entire ruins of the Nine Phoenix Pavilion fell into an eerie silence.

Water Like Smoke looked at the innocent-looking man before her, feeling as though her CPU was about to burn out. He took the benefits, acknowledged the strength, and then turned around and killed the benefactor?

What kind of underworld operation was this?!

But she had to admit, this explanation was a perfect closed loop. The God Slayer Mark possessed the 'Plunder' trait, allowing one to forcibly retain some of the abilities of a slain deity.

"Pervert."

Water Like Smoke took a deep breath, and the dark gray longbow in her hand slowly dissipated. The killing intent directed at Qin Ji also retracted. "Since you are a God Slayer, then you are not an enemy. Consider that arrow just now as my greeting."

Qin Ji narrowed his eyes slightly.

This woman changed her face faster than flipping through a book.

"May I ask..." Qin Ji's eyes burned as he stared at the spot where her longbow had vanished. "That class just now... it's a Beyond-Divine hidden class, right? Heaven Punisher?"

Although his current attributes were already stacked to the point of data overflow, his class structure was still primarily that of a 'Magic Tank.' The penetration power of that arrow just now made even a cheater like him, who pursued extreme stats, feel a hint of interest.

That was rule-level physical penetration.

A trace of pride flashed in Water Like Smoke's eyes. "Indeed. Heaven Punisher, an ancient forbidden class. Why, do you want it?"

"Name your price."

Qin Ji was straightforward. "Or I could just kill you and see if I can loot it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the magic power fluctuations around him became violent again. In the shadows behind him, several bone-white Skeleton Generals crawled out silently, greedy soul-fires burning in their eye sockets.

Since he knew there was good stuff, it wouldn't be Qin Ji's style not to take it.

Water Like Smoke's eye corner twitched.

Is this guy sick? They were chatting just fine, and now he wants to loot her over a single disagreement?

"If you want my Legacy, you aren't worthy yet."

Water Like Smoke snorted coldly, and the space around her body began to distort again as countless complex runes lit up beneath her feet. "Come find me when you can revive the Ancient Eastern Kingdom. At that time, I can give you a chance to challenge me."

"Trying to run?"

Qin Ji sneered, and [Death Grip] was instantly activated as a pitch-black giant hand lunged into the void.

But this time, it missed.

Water Like Smoke's figure was like a shattered reflection in water, completely vanishing from the spot, leaving only an ethereal voice echoing in the ruins:

"Don't waste your energy; this is spatial displacement. The item on the table is a greeting gift. Don't die, God Slayer..."

Qin Ji withdrew his hand, his brow slightly furrowed.

Being able to forcibly disengage from combat under his lock-on, this woman's life-saving trump cards were quite something. It seemed the strength of the 'Heaven Punisher' class was even higher than expected.

"Consider yourself fast."

Qin Ji curled his lip, his gaze falling on a flower vase not far away that wasn't completely shattered.

Stuck inside was a roll of yellowed parchment.

When Water Like Smoke left just now, she had deliberately used her aura to guide him to this location.

Qin Ji stepped forward, and the moment his fingers touched the scroll, lines of blood-red System text jumped out on his retina.

[Triggered epic rank Chain Quest: Revival of the Ancient Kingdom (Prologue)]

[Quest Background]: The Ancient Eastern Kingdom was once the Dominator of God's Domain, but fell due to the betrayal of the gods. As the successor of the Eastern Bloodline, you need to carve a path of blood through the territories of the Western gods.

[First Phase Quest Objective]: Kill 100 nobles or high-ranking officials with titles in the Star Kingdom (0/100).

[Quest Rewards]:

Experience +50,000,000

Random Eastern Deity Blessing Clue ×1

Unlock qualification for the 'Heaven Punisher' class advancement trial.

[Failure Penalty]: Spurned by the heroic spirits of the Ancient Eastern Kingdom; all attributes permanently decreased by 50%.

"One hundred nobles?"

Qin Ji looked at the quest panel, his mouth slowly curling into a cruel arc.

This quest was practically tailor-made for him.

He was just worrying that there were too few mobs in the Star Capital to farm his passive stacks. Since the System had spoken, then don't blame him for turning this capital into a slaughterhouse.

"Wrapping up."

Qin Ji casually tossed the scroll into his backpack and turned toward the stairs.

At this time, the outside of Drunken Moon Tower was already surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

Countless City Guard in silver armor held torches, surrounding the dilapidated brothel in three inner and three outer layers. At the very front of the crowd, a commander with a fleshy face riding a tall horse was waving a longsword and roaring loudly toward the building:

"Listen, thug inside! You are surrounded! Put down your weapons and surrender immediately, or else..."

Boom!

A loud bang interrupted his shout.

The two heavy mahogany doors of Drunken Moon Tower exploded, and countless wood splinters shot out like bullets, knocking over several guards in the front row.

Amidst the rolling dust, a slender figure slowly walked out.

Qin Ji had one hand in his pocket while the other casually dragged that pitch-black demonic sword, the tip of the blade scraping against the bluestone road and creating a trail of dazzling sparks. Facing thousands of troops, he didn't even bother to look up, merely staring down at his own shadow, his voice calm to the point of being nonchalant:

"How many did that quest say I needed to kill? A hundred?"

He slowly raised his head, his purple-gold pupils reflecting a heart-palpitating, non-human quality under the firelight.

"Then why don't we... round it up first."

The night wind howled, whipping up sparks that filled the sky. The shadows behind Qin Ji suddenly boiled, and countless pitch-black tentacles and pale bone claws burst from the ground. Amidst the terrified screams of those guards, a feast named 'Slaughter' began its prelude on the bustling long streets of the capital.